Kvamme fund said to target Midwestern, Ohio startups

May 9, 2013

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Mark Kvamme, the former JobsOhio chief, is working to raise a $300 million fund that ultimately could become another source of venture capital for Cincinnati startups.

According to Dow Jones VentureWire, which cited a person familiar with the situation, Columbus-based Drive Capital is reaching out to limited partners about the fund, which will focus on finding deals in the Midwest.

Kvamme is a co-founder and partner in Drive Capital, which he formed late last year. He told Columbus Business First in November that the fund would look to raise at least $250 million, and make the majority of its investments in Ohio.

Kvamme is familiar with this region’s efforts to support innovation and attract more venture capital. Gov. John Kasich recruited Kvamme, who spent much of his career in Silicon Valley, in January 2011 to run Ohio’s Department of Development and start the nonprofit JobsOhio. During his tenure with state government, Kvamme got a first-hand look at Ohio’s entrepreneurial environment, which he said was under appreciated on the East and West Coasts.

“I have seen several great companies in Ohio. In Cincy, I think companies like Paycor … and several spinout companies from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are very impressive,” Kvamme said in an October 2011 Cincinnati.com online chat.

Kvamme said then that programs like The Brandery, the Over-the-Rhine consumer marketing and branding accelerator, were “vital” to growing young companies in Ohio.

“(The Brandery) has done a very good job of identifying and locating key new market areas that Cincy companies can participate in. I look forward to spending more time with them in the future,” Kvamme said.

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Kvamme’s launching Drive Capital with Chris Olsen, a fellow alum of Sequoia Capital, the West Coast venture capital firm which made early investments in Apple and Google. Sequoia is also an investor in Mason-based AssureRx,

Kvamme’s not the only high-profile investor eying Ohio startups. Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of casino developer Rock Ventures LLC., is also a general partner in Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that backs seed and early stage companies.

Gilbert’s met with some Cincinnati startups and told the Enquirer earlier this year he’s interesting in exploring how to leverage this region’s marketing and branding prowess for DVP startups.

Rock Ventures has also launched Bizdom, a tech-based accelerator that gives portfolios $25,000 in seed funding, in Detroit and Cleveland. Gilbert said Rock Ventures will evaluate creating a branch here if it helps complement the existing activity.